Cars in Malaysia 2nd most expensive worldwide

While electronic gadgets are mostly cheaper in Malaysia than elsewhere,this does not apply to cars. A US blog has ranked Malaysia second in the list of the most expensive places to own a car in the world, losing only to its neighbour Singapore, the Malaysia Chronicle reported.

Indonesia, Nicaragua, China, Brazil, United Kingdom, St Kitts and Nevis, North Korea and Cuba were ranked behind Singapore and Malaysia, according to a September 5 entry posted in Jalopnik.com.

“In Malaysia, Toyobaru twins (sports car) cost around $75,000 new while a Mercedes SLS AMG cost around $600,000 brand new. This is where a beige mobile such as the Accord and Camry are considered luxury cars,” reads the review posted by a writer nicknamed SatriaFanboy on the website.

“Plus, many Malaysian spec cars lack in many safety features but are still sold at a higher price. Due to the high excise tax and protection policy for our local car maker Proton, many people here only can dream owning a BRZ or a Miata,” it added.

Meanwhile, K Koris Atan, vice president of the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations, was quoted by The Edge saying that there was no reason for Malaysia to have more expensive cars like Singapore where car prices were driven by the expensive bidding for the Certificate of Entitlement to own a vehicle and also as part of the government’s initiative to push people to use public transport.

“But in Malaysia the high taxes on cars are not because the government wants to discourage car ownership, as much as because it wants to make money from the taxes,” Koris was quoted as saying.

The president of the Penang Consumer Protection Association also criticised Malaysia’S national car policy of imposing high taxes on foreign cars to protect local made cars. Malaysia, he said, is the only country that produces its own car brand that relies on the domestic market instead of exports to make most of its profits.

While electronic gadgets are mostly cheaper in Malaysia than elsewhere,this does not apply to cars. A US blog has ranked Malaysia second in the list of the most expensive places to own a car in the world, losing only to its neighbour Singapore, the Malaysia Chronicle reported.

Indonesia, Nicaragua, China, Brazil, United Kingdom, St Kitts and Nevis, North Korea and Cuba were ranked behind Singapore and Malaysia, according to a September 5 entry posted in Jalopnik.com.

“In Malaysia, Toyobaru twins (sports car) cost around $75,000 new while a Mercedes SLS AMG cost around $600,000 brand new. This is where a beige mobile such as the Accord and Camry are considered luxury cars,” reads the review posted by a writer nicknamed SatriaFanboy on the website.

“Plus, many Malaysian spec cars lack in many safety features but are still sold at a higher price. Due to the high excise tax and protection policy for our local car maker Proton, many people here only can dream owning a BRZ or a Miata,” it added.

Meanwhile, K Koris Atan, vice president of the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations, was quoted by The Edge saying that there was no reason for Malaysia to have more expensive cars like Singapore where car prices were driven by the expensive bidding for the Certificate of Entitlement to own a vehicle and also as part of the government’s initiative to push people to use public transport.

“But in Malaysia the high taxes on cars are not because the government wants to discourage car ownership, as much as because it wants to make money from the taxes,” Koris was quoted as saying.

The president of the Penang Consumer Protection Association also criticised Malaysia’S national car policy of imposing high taxes on foreign cars to protect local made cars. Malaysia, he said, is the only country that produces its own car brand that relies on the domestic market instead of exports to make most of its profits.